Name	Walter Mondale
Imagesize	260px
Office	42nd Vice President of the United States
President	Jimmy Carter
Term start	January 20, 1977
Term end	January 20, 1981
Predecessor	Nelson Rockefeller
Successor	George H. W. Bush
Jr/sr3	United States Senator
State3	Minnesota
Term start3	December 30, 1964
Term end3	December 30, 1976
Predecessor3	Hubert Humphrey
Successor3	Wendell Anderson
Office4	United States Ambassador to Japan
President4	Bill Clinton
Term start4	September 21, 1993
Term end4	December 15, 1996
Predecessor4	Michael Armacost
Successor4	Tom Foley
Office5	Attorney General of Minnesota
Governor5	Orville FreemanElmer AndersenKarl Rolvaag
Term start5	1960
Term end5	1964
Predecessor5	Miles Lord
Successor5	Robert Mattson
Birth date	January 05, 1928
Birth place	Ceylon, Minnesota, United States
Spouse	Joan Adams
Children	Theodore MondaleEleanor MondaleWilliam Mondale
Party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Macalester CollegeUniversity of Minnesota Law School
Religion	Presbyterian
Signature	Walter Mondale Signature.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Branch	United States Army
Serviceyears	1951–1953
Rank	Corporal
Unit	Fort Knox

Walter Frederick Mondale (born January 5, 1928) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States, serving under President Jimmy Carter (1977–81), and as a United States Senator for Minnesota (1964–76). He was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the United States presidential election of 1984.

Mondale was born in Ceylon, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1951. He then served in the US Army in the Korean War before earning a law degree in 1956. He married Joan Adams in 1955. Working as a lawyer in Minneapolis, Mondale was elected to the position of attorney general in 1960. He was appointed US Senator in late 1964 as a member of the Democratic Party upon the resignation of Hubert Humphrey, and held that post until 1976. In the Senate he supported open housing, tax reform and the desegregation of schools. He opposed the Vietnam War.

In 1976 Carter, the Democratic presidential nominee, chose Mondale as his running mate in the forthcoming election. The Carter/Mondale ticket defeated incumbent president Gerald Ford. Carter and Mondale's time in office was marred by a worsening economy, and although both were renominated by the Democratic party, they lost the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan.

In 1984, Mondale won the Democratic nomination for the presidency and campaigned for a nuclear freeze, the Equal Rights Amendment and a reduction of US public debt. In the election, Mondale was defeated in a landslide by President Reagan, gaining electoral votes narrowly from only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.

After the election, Mondale joined a Minnesota law firm and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (1986–93), and was credited with successes in Poland and Hungary. President Bill Clinton appointed Mondale United States Ambassador to Japan in 1993; he retired in 1996.

Since then, Mondale has returned to his law firm and remains active in the Democratic party.

Early life

Walter Frederick Mondale was born in Ceylon, Minnesota, the son of Claribel Hope (née Cowan), a part-time music teacher, and Theodore Sigvaard Mondale, a Methodist minister. Leader's Lecture Series Speakers

2002 Senate election and beyond

In 2002, Democratic US Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who was running for re-election, died in a plane crash just 11 days before the November 5 election. At the age of 74, Mondale replaced Wellstone on the ballot, at the urging of Wellstone's relatives. This Senate seat was the one that Mondale himself had held, before resigning to become Vice President in 1977.

During his debate with the Republican nominee, former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, Mondale emphasized his own experience in foreign affairs while painting Coleman as a finger-in-the-wind opportunist. "We've seen you shift around, Norman," Mondale said, alluding to Coleman's past as an anti-war college activist and, more recently, as a Democrat who had changed his party allegiance to the GOP while serving as mayor of St. Paul.

In a major upset, Mondale narrowly lost the election, finishing with 1,067,246 votes (47.34%) to Coleman's 1,116,697 (49.53%) out of 2,254,639 votes cast, earning him the unique distinction of having lost a statewide election in all 50 states as the nominee of a major party (he lost the other 49 in the 1984 Presidential Election).

The election was also marked by the controversy surrounding Wellstone's memorial event, which many critics, including then Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (IM), considered to have been overly partisan.

Upon conceding defeat, Mondale stated: "At the end of what will be my last campaign, I want to say to Minnesota, you always treated me well, you always listened to me."

In 2004 Mondale became co-chairman of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Right to Counsel Committee. He endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for the Presidency of the United States and supported her campaign for the White House in 2008. On June 3, 2008, following the final primary contests, Mondale switched his endorsement to Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill., who had clinched the nomination the previous evening.

Following the U.S. Presidential election of 2004 and the mid-term elections of 2006, Mondale is seen talking with Al Franken about the possibility of the latter running for Norm Coleman's U.S. Senate seat in 2008 in the documentary . In the film, Mondale encourages Franken to run, but cautions him, saying that Coleman's allies and the Republican Party were going to look for anything they could use against him. Franken ultimately ran and won the 2008 Senate election by 312 votes after the election results had been contested in court by Coleman until June 30, 2009.

Family

His wife, Joan Mondale, is a national advocate for the arts and was the Honorary Chairman of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities during the Carter Administration.

The Mondales' eldest son, Theodore A. "Ted" Mondale, is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Nazca Solutions, a technology fulfillment venture. He is also a former Minnesota state senator. In 1998, Mondale sought the Democratic primary nomination for Minnesota governor. Mondale, a fiscal moderate who had distanced himself from labor, lost in the primary.

The Mondales' daughter, Eleanor, has been a television personality. She also has had radio talk shows in Chicago, and most recently, a long running program on WCCO (AM) in Minneapolis.

Walter Mondale continues to maintain a residence near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. Mondale is a Presbyterian. He enjoys fishing, reading Shakespeare and historical accounts, barbecuing, skiing, watching Monty Python, and playing tennis.

Mondale has maintained strong ties to the University of Minnesota Law School, which named its new residence on the West Bank of the Mississippi "Mondale Hall". He contributes cameo appearances to the Law School's annual T.O.R.T. ("Theater of the Relatively Talentless") presentations, and has allowed his name to be used as the nickname of the school's hockey team: "The Fighting Mondales."

In popular culture

Bill Murray and Garrett Morris played Mondale on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s, as did Dana Carvey in the mid-1980s.

In Aaron Spelling's teen drama, Beverly Hills, 90210 the character Brandon Walsh honored Walter Mondale by naming his car after him.

In Berke Breathed's Bloom County, a story surrounding around Bill the Cat's run for president, Mondale is briefly Bill's running mate. In another strip, the Meadow Party is depressed because a recent opinion poll put Bill and Opus "Just above Mondale, just below Pitted Prunes."

In Futurama Season 1 Episode 11 ("Mars University"), Amy Wong mentions him when she says, "Boring! Let's hear about Walter Mondale already." This remark was made to a professor who was drawn to look like Mondale.

In Futurama Season 2 Episode 7 ("A Head In The Polls"), Walter Mondale' Head is in the "Closet Of Presidential Losers" within the Head Museum.

One of his ads for his presidential campaign was featured on The Daily Show on March 3, 2008 as a satirical comparison to one of Hillary Clinton's campaign ads.

In the Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word", Homer Simpson reads a headline that describes Mondale's "Where's the beef?" comment during the 1984 Presidential Election. Homer laughs approvingly and remarks "No wonder he won Minnesota!"

In the Simpsons episode, "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", a janitor who "looks like" Walter Mondale helps newly elected Congressman Krusty the Clown get a bill to become law using underhanded methods.

In the Simpsons episode, "Bart vs. Australia", the family flees from Australia to a "laundry ship" named USS Walter Mondale.

In the American Dad episode, "Stan Knows Best", Stan Smith says "Rubharb" when Hayley moves in with her boyfriend, Jeff. He claimed the word was a subliminal order he supposedly implanted into her subconscious to kill Walter Mondale. However, it is revealed that the word was implanted into Steve's mind. In "The Best Christmas Story Never", Stan goes back in time and alters the past, where Walter Mondale becomes the President instead of Ronald Reagan, and quickly hands over the US to the Soviet Union.

In an episode of The O.C., "The Case of the Franks", Sandy Cohen, in a flashback, is campaigning for the Mondale campaign. He attempts to give future wife Kirsten a campaign button and states that he would tell her why Mondale and Ferraro wouldn't win, but campaigning for them felt right.

In the Saved by the Bell episode, "The Election", when Zach has far surpassed Jesse in the polls for class president, Kelly tells Jesse she will go down in history with George McGovern, Walter Mondale, and the Cleveland Indians.

He is portrayed by actor John Slattery in the HBO Miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

He was mentioned in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode, "Prince of Space". The quote from Mike Nelson is "Walter Mondale arrives." The movie they are watching was filmed in Japan.

Published works

Twelve Years and Thirteen Days: Remembering Paul and Sheila Wellstone, co-written with Terry Gydesen, was published in 2003; Crisis and Opportunity in a Changing Japan, co-written with William Regis Farrell, was published in 1999; and The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency, was written in 1976.

Norwegian ancestry

Mondale has always maintained strong ties to his ancestral Norway. His family surname was originally Mundal and it originated in Mundal, Fjærland. Upon entering the Senate in 1964 he took over the seat of vice president Hubert Humphrey, another Norwegian-American. In later years Mondale has served on the executive committee of the Peace Prize Forum, an annual conference co-sponsored by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and five Midwestern colleges of Norwegian heritage. During Norway's Centennial Celebration in 2005, he chaired the committee to promote and develop cultural activities between Norway and Norwegian-American logan organizations.

While he was in office, Twin Cities Public Television produced a documentary about him entitled Walter Mondale: There's a Fjord in Your Past, a play on the well-known advertising slogan, "There's a Ford in Your Future."

On December 5, 2007, Norwegian minister of foreign affairs Jonas Gahr Støre announced that Walter Mondale would be named Honorary Consul-General of Norway, representing the Norwegian state in Minnesota.

Electoral history

References

Further reading

Gillon, Steven M. The Democrats’ Dilemma: Walter F. Mondale and the Liberal Legacy (1992)

Mondale, Walter. The Accountability of Power (1975).

External links

Congressional biography

Senate Leaders Lecture Series Address

Minnesota Public Radio: Coleman, Mondale debate on eve of election (November 4, 2002) — featuring audio of the 2002 debate

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs: The Mondale Lectures on Public Service

Great Norwegians

Two Views from Pennsylvania Avenue

List of New York Times articles on Mondale

Senator Mondale transfers money from NASA to social programs using political maneuvers

AmericanHeritage.com / Lost in Space What Went Wrong with NASA?

Walter F. Mondale: An Inventory of His Papers, including his Vice Presidential Papers, at the Minnesota Historical Society

Category:1928 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century vice presidents of the United States Category:American politicians of Norwegian descent Category:American Presbyterians Category:Appointed United States Senators Category:Carter administration personnel Category:Clinton Administration personnel Category:Democratic Party United States Senators Category:Democratic Party Vice Presidents of the United States Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:Macalester College alumni Category:Minnesota Attorneys General Category:Minnesota Democrats Category:People from Martin County, Minnesota Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:United States Senators from Minnesota Category:United States ambassadors to Japan Category:United States presidential candidates, 1980 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1984 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 1976 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 1980 Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni

Name	Walter Cronkite
Caption	Cronkite in 2004
Birthname	Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.
Birth date	November 04, 1916
Birth place	St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S
Death date	July 17, 2009
Death place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Television and radio broadcaster, news anchor
Alias	Old Ironpants, Uncle Walter, King of the anchormen
Spouse	, her death
Children	Nancy Elizabeth Cronkite(b. 1948)Kathy Cronkite (b. 1950) Walter Cronkite III ("Chip")
Religion	Episcopalian
Years active	1935–2009
Credits	CBS Evening News

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) the death of President John F. Kennedy, Watergate, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, he was known for extensive TV coverage of the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle. He was the only non-NASA recipient of a Moon-rock award. Cronkite is well known for his departing catchphrase "And that's the way it is," followed by the date on which the appearance is aired.

Early life

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the son of Helen Lena (née Fritsche, August 1892 - November 1993) and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite (September 1893 - May 1973), a dentist. He was a member of the Boy Scouts. He attended college at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), where he worked on the Daily Texan and became a member of the Nu chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He also was a member of the Houston chapter of DeMolay, a Masonic fraternal organization for boys. While attending UT, Cronkite had his first taste of performance, appearing in a play with fellow students Eli Wallach and Ann Sheridan.

Religion

Cronkite's family was Protestant and changed their denomination three times while he was a child. Cronkite himself joined the Episcopal church as a youth, explaining in a 1994 interview: "I got into a Boy Scout troop that met in an Episcopal church. The church had a wonderful minister who was also the scoutmaster. And I suppose you can say he proselytized me. At any rate, I was much involved with the church, and became Episcopalian - and an acolyte. Later, when I worked for a paper in Houston, I was church editor for a while. The Episcopal House of Bishops met in Houston one year, and I became intrigued by the leaders of the church — fascinated by their discussions and their erudition."

Career

He dropped out of college in his junior year, in 1935, after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports. He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell (known by her nickname "Betsy"), while working as the sports announcer for KCMO (AM) in Kansas City, Missouri. His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox". He became one of the top American reporters in World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe. He was one of eight journalists selected by the United States Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany in a B-17 Flying Fortress part of group called the Writing 69th. Cronkite anchored the network's coverage of the 1952 presidential election as well as later conventions. In 1964 he was temporarily replaced by the team of Robert Trout and Roger Mudd; this proved to be a mistake, and Cronkite returned to the anchor chair for future political conventions.

From 1953 to 1957, Cronkite hosted the CBS program You Are There, which reenacted historical events, using the format of a news report. His famous last line for these programs was: "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times ... and you were there." In 1971, the show was revived and redesigned to attract an audience of teenagers and young adults on Saturday mornings. He also hosted The Twentieth Century, a documentary series about important historical events of the century comprised almost exclusively of newsreel footage and interviews. It became a long-running hit (it was renamed The Twenty-First Century in 1967). Cronkite also hosted It's News to Me, a game show based on news events.

Another of his network assignments was The Morning Show, CBS' short-lived challenge to NBC's Today in 1954. His on-air duties included interviewing guests and chatting with a lion puppet named Charlemane about the news. The program expanded from 15 to 30 minutes on September 2, 1963, making Cronkite the anchor of American network television's first nightly half-hour news program.

During the early part of his tenure anchoring the CBS Evening News, Cronkite competed against NBC's anchor team of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, who anchored the Huntley-Brinkley Report. For most of the 1960s, the Huntley-Brinkley Report had more viewers than Cronkite's broadcast. This began to change in the late 1960s, as RCA made a corporate decision not to fund NBC News at the levels CBS funded CBS News. Consequently, CBS News acquired a reputation for greater accuracy and depth in its broadcast journalism. This reputation meshed nicely with Cronkite's wire service experience, and in 1967 the CBS Evening News began to surpass The Huntley-Brinkley Report in viewership during the summer months.

In 1969, during the Apollo 11 (with co-host and former astronaut Wally Schirra) and Apollo 13 moon missions, Cronkite received the best ratings and made CBS the most-watched television network for the missions. In 1970, when Huntley retired, the CBS Evening News finally dominated the American TV news viewing audience. Although NBC finally settled on the skilled and well-respected broadcast journalist John Chancellor, Cronkite proved to be more popular and continued to be top-rated until his retirement in 1981.

One of Cronkite's trademarks was ending the CBS Evening News with the phrase "...And that's the way it is," followed by the date. Keeping to standards of objective journalism, he omitted this phrase on nights when he ended the newscast with opinion or commentary. Beginning with January 16, 1980, Day 50 of the Iran hostage crisis, Cronkite added the length of the hostages' captivity to the show's closing to remind the audience of the unresolved situation, ending only on Day 444, January 20, 1981.

With emotion still in his voice and eyes watering, Cronkite once again recapped the events after collecting himself, incorporating some wire photos of the visit and explaining the significance of the pictures now that Kennedy was dead. After that, Cronkite reminded the viewers one final time that it had now been confirmed that the President was dead, that Vice President Johnson was now the President and was to be sworn in (which had occurred just as Cronkite received the bulletin confirming the President's death), that Governor Connally's condition was still unknown but many reports said that he was still alive, and that there was no report of whether the assassin had been captured (despite the earlier reports of arrests at the Texas School Book Depository). He then tossed coverage of the events to colleague Charles Collingwood and left the newsroom.

Less than 45 minutes later, at about 3:30 PM EST, Cronkite returned to the anchor position, this time in his jacket, to replace Collingwood. The highlights of new details included the swearing-in ceremony of the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson, the arrest of the accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the first new bits of news from Dallas, during which time his reports were interspersed with new information from Dan Rather and Eddie Barker at KRLD's studio. After Cronkite left the anchor desk again he was replaced by Collingwood; Cronkite's next appearance came nearly two hours later, when he took over for Harry Reasoner at the desk so he could anchor The CBS Evening News as scheduled.

Two days later, at 2:33 PM EST on November 24, Cronkite broke into CBS's coverage of the memorial services in Washington to inform the viewers of the death of Oswald, who had been shot earlier that day (the news that Reasoner had broken into the funeral coverage to report only seconds after the incident):

The following day, on the day of Kennedy's funeral, as he was concluding the CBS Evening News, Cronkite provided the following commentary about the events of the last four dark days:

Referring to his coverage of Kennedy's assassination, in a 2006 TV interview with Nick Clooney, Cronkite recalled:

"I choked up, I really had a little trouble...my eyes got a little wet...[what Kennedy had represented] was just all lost to us. Fortunately, I grabbed hold before I was actually [crying]. On February 27, 1968, Cronkite closed "Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why?" with that editorial report: The first public broadcast featured CBS's Cronkite and NBC's Chet Huntley in New York, and the BBC's Richard Dimbleby in Brussels. Cronkite was in the New York studio at Rockefeller Plaza as the first pictures to be transmitted and received were the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The first segment included a televised major league baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. From there, the video switched first to Washington, DC; then to Cape Canaveral, Florida; then to Quebec, Canada and finally to Stratford, Ontario. The Washington segment included a press conference with President Kennedy, talking about the price of the American dollar, which was causing concern in Europe. This broadcast inaugurated live, intercontinental news coverage, which was perfected later in sixties with Early Bird and other Intelsat satellites.

General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to his former Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) headquarters for an interview by Cronkite on the CBS News Special Report D-Day + 20, telecast on June 6, 1964.

Cronkite is also remembered for his coverage of the United States space program, and at times was visibly enthusiastic, rubbing his hands together on camera with a smile and uttering, "Whew...boy" on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission put the first men on the Moon. Cronkite later criticized himself for being at a loss for journalistic words at that moment.

According to the 2006 PBS documentary on Cronkite, there was "nothing new" in his reports on the Watergate affair; however, Cronkite brought together a wide range of reporting, and his credibility and status is credited by many with pushing the Watergate story to the forefront with the American public, ultimately resulting in the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon on August 9, 1974. Cronkite had anchored the CBS coverage of Nixon's address, announcing his impending resignation, the night before.

Cronkite also was one of the first to receive word of former President Lyndon B. Johnson's death, receiving the information during the January 22, 1973, broadcast of the CBS Evening News. And anyway, the person who sits here is but the most conspicuous member of a superb team of journalists; writers, reporters, editors, producers, and none of that will change. Furthermore, I'm not even going away! I'll be back from time to time with special news reports and documentaries, and, beginning in June, every week, with our science program, Universe. Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that's the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment, and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night. In July 2006, the 90-minute documentary Walter Cronkite: Witness to History aired on PBS. The special was narrated by Katie Couric, who assumed the CBS Evening News anchor chair in September 2006. Cronkite provided the voiceover introduction to Couric's CBS Evening News, which began on September 5, 2006. Cronkite's voiceover was notably not used on introducing the broadcast reporting his funeral - no voiceover was used on this occasion.

TV and movie appearances

Cronkite made a cameo appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which he met with Lou Grant in his office. Ted Baxter, who at first tried to convince Cronkite that he (Baxter) was as good a newsman as Eric Sevareid, pleaded with Cronkite to hire him for the network news, at least to give sport scores, and gave an example: "The North Stars 3, the Kings Oh!" Cronkite turned to Lou and said, "I'm gonna get you for this!" Cronkite later said that he was disappointed that his scene was filmed in one take, since he had hoped to sit down and chat with the cast.

In the late 1980s and again in the 1990s, Cronkite appeared on the news-oriented situation comedy Murphy Brown as himself. Both episodes were written by the Emmy-award winning team of Tom Seeley and Norm Gunzenhauser.

Cronkite appeared briefly in the 2005 dramatic documentary The American Ruling Class written by Lewis Lapham, Thirteen Days, reporting on the Cuban missile crisis and provided the opening synopsis of the American Space Program leading to the events in Apollo 13 for the Ron Howard film of the same name.

Political activism

Cronkite wrote a syndicated opinion column for King Features Syndicate. In 2005 and 2006, he contributed to The Huffington Post. He worked with the Alliance for Better Campaigns "In fact," Cronkite pointed out, "of all the major nations worldwide that profess to have democracies, only seven — just seven — do not offer free airtime" This put the United States on a list with Ecuador, Honduras, Malaysia, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago. Cronkite concluded that "The failure to give free airtime for our political campaigns endangers our democracy." became involved in a long-running debate over his opposition to the construction of a wind farm in that area. In his column, he repeatedly condemned President George W. Bush and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Cronkite appeared in the 2004 Robert Greenwald film Outfoxed, where he offered commentary on what he said were unethical and overtly political practices at the Fox News Channel. Cronkite remarked that when Fox News was founded by Rupert Murdoch, "it was intended to be a conservative organization — beyond that; a far-right-wing organization". In January 2006, during a press conference to promote the PBS documentary about his career, Cronkite said that he felt the same way about America's presence in Iraq as he had about their presence in Vietnam in 1968 and that he felt America should recall its troops.

Personal life

in July 1997.]] Cronkite was married for nearly sixty-five years to Mary Elizabeth 'Betsy' Maxwell Cronkite (January 25, 1916 - March 15, 2005), and four grandchildren: Will Ikard, John Ikard, Peter Cronkite, and Walter Cronkite IV. Peter and Walter are alumni of St. Bernard's School. Throughout the 1950s, he was an aspiring sports car racer, even racing in the 1959 12 Hours of Sebring. For most of his 20 years as anchor, he was the "predominant news voice in America." Affectionately known as "Uncle Walter," he covered many of the important news events of the era so effectively that his image and voice are closely associated with the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the Watergate scandal. USA Today wrote that "few TV figures have ever had as much power as Cronkite did at his height." Enjoying the cult of personality surrounding Cronkite in those years, CBS allowed some good-natured fun-poking at its star anchorman in some episodes of the network's popular situation comedy All in the Family, during which the lead character Archie Bunker would sometimes complain about the newsman, calling him "Pinko Cronkite."

Cronkite trained himself to speak at a rate of 124 words per minute in his newscasts, so that viewers could clearly understand him.

In 1981, the year he retired, Jimmy Carter awarded Cronkite the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1985, Cronkite was honoured with the induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. On March 1, 2006, Cronkite became the first non-astronaut to receive NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award.

Cronkite School at Arizona State University

at Arizona State University.]] A few years after Cronkite retired, Tom Chauncey, an owner of KTSP-TV, the then-CBS affiliate in Phoenix, contacted Cronkite, an old friend, and asked him if he would be willing to have the journalism school at Arizona State University named after him. Cronkite immediately agreed. The ASU program acquired status and respect from its namesake.

Cronkite was not just a namesake, but he also took the time to interact with the students and staff of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Walter Cronkite Papers

The Walter Cronkite papers are preserved at the curatorial Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. During this time he also covered the Nuremberg war crimes trial serving as the chief of the United Press bureau in Moscow. The main content of the papers documents Cronkite's career with CBS News between 1950 and 1981.

The Cronkite Papers assemble a variety of interviews with U.S. presidents from Herbert Hoover to Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan. President Lyndon Johnson requested a special interview with Cronkite while he was broadcasting live on CBS.

Between 1990 and 1993 Don Carleton, executive director for the Center for American History, assisted Cronkite The taped memoirs became an integral part of an eight-part television series Cronkite Remembers, which was shown on the Discovery Channel.

References

Further reading

External links

Cronkite: Eyewitness to a Century - Exhibit at The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum''

Remembering Walter Cronkite - slideshow by Life Magazine

AP Obituary in the New York Times

Walter Cronkite, Iconic Anchor, Is Dead, The New York Times, July 17, 2009

RIP Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite - Daily Telegraph obituary

Celebrating Cronkite while Ignoring what he did by Glenn Greenwald, Salon Magazine

Cronkite's 1968 Dissent on Vietnam Helped Save Thousands of Lives by Greg Mitchell

Anchorman Was Critical of Media Consolidation, Wars in Vietnam and Iraq by Democracy Now!

Web ZIne from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University

The Walter Cronkite Papers, the University of Texas at Austin

Cronkite's personal blog

Walter Cronkite Archive of American Television Interview

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Category:1916 births Category:2009 deaths Category:60 Minutes correspondents Category:Amateur radio people Category:American anti-Vietnam War activists Category:American bloggers Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American Episcopalians Category:American game show hosts Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American television news anchors Category:American television personalities Category:American television reporters and correspondents Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in New York Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Drug policy reform activists Category:Peabody Award winners Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Space advocacy Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:War correspondents Category:World federalists

Name	Thomas Stewart Udall
Jr/sr	Junior Senator
State	New Mexico
Term start	January 3, 2009
Preceded	Pete Domenici
Alongside	Jeff Bingaman
State2	New Mexico
District2	3rd
Term start2	January 3, 1999
Term end2	January 3, 2009
Preceded2	Bill Redmond
Succeeded2	Ben R. Luján
Title3	28th New Mexico Attorney General
Term start3	1991
Term end3	1999
Predecessor3	Harold Stratton
Successor3	Patricia Madrid
Party	Democratic
Date of birth	May 18, 1948
Place of birth	Tucson, Arizona
Alma mater	Prescott College (pre-law)Cambridge University (LL.B.)University of New Mexico (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney
Spouse	Jill Cooper
Residence	Santa Fe, New Mexico
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Thomas Stewart "Tom" Udall (born May 18, 1948) is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008, defeating Congressman Steve Pearce.

Education and family

Tom Udall's family can be traced to territorial New Mexico, and he was born in Tucson, Arizona. He attended Prescott College, graduating with a pre-law degree in 1970. In 1975, he graduated from Cambridge University in England with a Bachelor of Law degree. That fall, he enrolled in the University of New Mexico School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1977. After graduating, Udall was Law Clerk to Chief Judge Oliver Seth of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. His legal career then included appointments as Assistant US Attorney in the criminal division and Chief Counsel to the Department of Health and Environment. A partnership followed in the Miller Law Firm.

He is the son of Stewart Udall, who was Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, nephew of Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, and 1st cousin of Colorado Senator Mark Udall and double second cousin of former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith. He was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Political career

In 1982, Udall ran for Congress in the newly-created 3rd District, but lost the Democratic primary to Bill Richardson. He ran for Congress again in the 1st District for the seat left open by retiring 20-year incumbent Manuel Lujan, but narrowly lost to Bernalillo County District Attorney Steven Schiff.

From 1991 to 1999 he served as Attorney General of New Mexico.

U.S. House of Representatives

Udall ran for Congress again in 1998 in the 3rd District against Bill Redmond, who had been elected in a 1997 special election to replace Richardson. Redmond was a conservative Republican representing a heavily Democratic district, and the 3rd's partisan tilt was enough for Udall to defeat Redmond with 53 percent of the vote to Redmond's 43 percent. Udall never faced another close contest, and was reelected four times, including a completely unopposed run in 2002. He won a fifth term in the 2006 midterm elections he was reelected with 75 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Ron Dolin.

As a U.S. Representative, Tom Udall belonged to the centrist New Democrat Coalition and the more liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus. He was also a member of the United States House Peak Oil Caucus.

Committee assignments

United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations

*Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

*Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

*Subcommittee on Legislative Branch

Co-Vice Chair of the House Native American Caucus

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

In November 2007 he announced he would give up his congressional seat to run in the 2008 Senate election in New Mexico to replace Pete Domenici, who was retiring. The only other Democrat in the race, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, dropped out in December, essentially handing the nomination to Udall. New Mexico's other two members of the House, 1st District Congresswoman Heather Wilson and 2nd District Congressman Steve Pearce, also gave up their seats to run in the Republican primary. Pearce won the Republican nomination, and lost to Udall in November 2008 elections. Democrat Ben R. Luján went on to win Udall's House seat.

While Udall was running for senate in New Mexico, his younger first cousin, congressman Mark Udall, ran for the Colorado Senate seat left open by the retirement of Wayne Allard. Their double second cousin, incumbent Gordon Smith of Oregon, also ran in a Senate election against Jeff Merkley. While Mark and Tom Udall are Democrats, Smith is a Republican.

Tom Udall won his Senate race with 61% of the vote.

U.S. Senate

Committee assignments

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

*Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet

*Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion

*Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance

*Subcommittee on Science and Space

*Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

Committee on Environment and Public Works

*Subcommittee on Children's Health

*Subcommittee on Oversight

*Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife

Committee on Rules and Administration

Committee on Indian Affairs

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

International Narcotics Control Caucus

Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.

See also

Udall family (political family)

Lee-Hamblin family

References

External links

Senator Tom Udall official U.S. Senate site

Udall For Us All official campaign site

Profile at SourceWatch

Category:1948 births Category:United States Senators from New Mexico Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from New Mexico Category:New Mexico Attorneys General Category:People from Tucson, Arizona Category:Udall family Category:New Mexico Democrats Category:People associated with peak oil Category:University of New Mexico School of Law alumni Category:Democratic Party United States Senators

Name	Ronald Reagan
Imagesize	200px
Order	40th
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	George H. W. Bush
Term start	January 20, 1981
Term end	January 20, 1989
Predecessor	Jimmy Carter
Successor	George H. W. Bush
Order2	33rd
Office2	Governor of California
Lieutenant2	Robert Finch(1967–1969) Ed Reinecke(1969–1974) John Harmer(1974–1975)
Term start2	January 3, 1967
Term end2	January 6, 1975
Predecessor2	Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Successor2	Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr.
Birth date	February 06, 1911
Birth place	Tampico, Illinois
Death date	June 05, 2004
Death place	Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
Resting place	Reagan Presidential Library
Spouse	Jane Wyman (1940 - 1948)(2) Nancy Davis (1952 - 2004)
Children	Maureen ReaganChristine ReaganMichael Reagan Patti DavisRon Reagan
Alma mater	Eureka College
Occupation	Actor
Religion	Baptized Disciples of Christ, later attended Presbyterian churches.
Signature	Ronald Reagan Signature2.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Party	Republican (1962–2004) Democratic (1932–1962)
Branch	United States Army United States Army Air Forces
Rank	Captain
Serviceyears	1937–1945

Ronald Wilson Reagan (; February 6, 1911 June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Reagan's father was of Irish Catholic ancestry, Reagan's family briefly lived in several towns and cities in Illinois, including Monmouth, Galesburg and Chicago, until 1919, when they returned to Tampico and lived above the H.C. Pitney Variety Store. which he was baptized into in 1922. His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon, in 1926. Reagan performed 77 rescues as a lifeguard, noting that he notched a mark on a wooden log for every life he saved. He was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on May 25, 1937. Upon the approval of the Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on May 15, 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit (officially, the "18th AAF Base Unit") in Culver City, California. He returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit after completing this duty and was promoted to Captain on July 22, 1943.

In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was re-assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit on November 14, 1944, where he remained until the end of World War II. He was recommended for promotion to Major on February 2, 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year. By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF. The University of Iowa hired him to broadcast home football games for the Hawkeyes. He was paid $10 per game. Soon after, a staff announcer's job opened at radio station WOC in Davenport, and Reagan was hired, now earning $100 per month. Aided by his persuasive voice, he moved to WHO radio in Des Moines as an announcer for Chicago Cubs baseball games.

While traveling with the Cubs in California, Reagan took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers studios. While sometimes overshadowed by other actors, Reagan's screen performances did receive many good reviews.

, which gave a brief boost to his career, in 1942]] His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie Love Is on the Air, and by the end of 1939 he had already appeared in 19 films, In the post-war era, after being separated from almost four years of World War II stateside service with the 1st Motion Picture Unit in December 1945, Reagan co-starred in such films as, The Voice of the Turtle , John Loves Mary, The Hasty Heart, Bedtime for Bonzo, Cattle Queen of Montana, Tennessee's Partner, Hellcats of the Navy and The Killers (his final film) in a 1964 remake. He would subsequently be chosen by the membership to seven additional one-year terms, from 1947 to 1952 and in 1959. Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act, House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era.

Amid the Red Scare in the late 1940s, Reagan provided the FBI with names of actors whom he believed to be communist sympathizers within the motion picture industry.

Though an early critic of television, Reagan landed fewer film roles in the late 1950s and decided to join the medium. He was hired as the host of General Electric Theater, a series of weekly dramas that became very popular. His contract required him to tour GE plants sixteen weeks out of the year, often demanding of him fourteen speeches per day. He earned approximately $125,000 per year (about $1.07 million in 2010 dollars) in this role. His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the television series Death Valley Days. Reagan and Nancy Davis appeared together several times, including an episode of GE Theater in 1958 called A Turkey for President. (He is the only U.S. president to have been divorced.) They were engaged at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles and were married on March 4, 1952, at the Little Brown Church in the San Fernando Valley. He often called her "Mommy;" she called him "Ronnie". and in 1998, while Reagan was stricken by Alzheimer's, Nancy told Vanity Fair, "Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. I can't imagine life without him." and is considered the event that launched Reagan's political career.

and First Lady Pat Nixon in July 1970]] Reagan was involved in high-profile conflicts with the protest movements of the era. On May 15, 1969, during the People's Park protests at UC Berkeley, Reagan sent the California Highway Patrol and other officers to quell the protests, in an incident that became known as "Bloody Thursday." The State Legislature sent the bill to Reagan's desk where, after many days of indecision, he signed it. Reagan had been in office for only four months when he signed the bill, and stated that had he been more experienced as governor, it would not have been signed. After he recognized what he called the "consequences" of the bill, he announced that he was pro-life. He maintained that position later in his political career, . His efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the Supreme Court of California issued its People v. Anderson decision, which invalidated all death sentences issued in California prior to 1972, though the decision was later overturned by a constitutional amendment. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on April 12, 1967, when Aaron Mitchell's sentence was carried out by the state in San Quentin's gas chamber.

Reagan's concession speech emphasized the dangers of nuclear war and the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Though he lost the nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a faithless elector in the November election from the state of Washington,

After receiving the Republican nomination, Reagan selected one of his primary opponents, George H.W. Bush, to be his running mate. His showing in the October televised debate boosted his campaign. Reagan won the election, carrying 44 states with 489 electoral votes to 49 electoral votes for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Reagan received 50.7% of the popular vote while Carter took 41%, and Independent John B. Anderson (a liberal Republican) received 6.7%. As president, Reagan kept a series of diaries in which he commented on daily occurrences of his presidency and his views on the issues of the day. The diaries were published in May 2007 in the bestselling book, The Reagan Diaries. He began coughing up blood in the limousine and was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where it was determined that his lung had collapsed; he underwent emergency surgery to remove the bullet. In the operating room, Reagan joked to the surgeons, "I hope you're all Republicans!"

The president was released from the hospital on April 11 and recovered relatively quickly, This position was in stark contrast to Reagan's past as a labor union president of the Screen Actor's Guild, as well as his support for the Polish labor union Solidarity in its fight against Soviet domination.

"Reaganomics" and the economy

During Jimmy Carter's last year in office (1980), inflation averaged 12.5%, compared to 4.4% during Reagan's last year in office (1988). The net effect of all Reagan-era tax bills was a 1% decrease in government revenues when compared to Treasury Department revenue estimates from the Administration's first post-enactment January budgets. and many poor and minority citizens viewed Reagan as indifferent to their struggles.

Following his less-government intervention views, Reagan cut the budgets of non-military and the EPA. Other economists, such as Nobel Prize winner Robert Solow, argue that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, reneged on a and raised taxes.

Escalation of the Cold War

Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which began in 1979 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. and implemented new policies towards the Soviet Union: reviving the B-1 bomber program that had been canceled by the Carter administration, and producing the MX "Peacekeeper" missile. As result of the shootdown, and the cause of KAL 007's going astray thought to be inadequacies related to its navigational system, Reagan announced on 16 September 1983 that the Global Positioning System (GPS) would be made available for civilian use, free of charge, once completed in order to avert similar navigational errors in future. that would have used ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The Soviets became concerned about the possible effects SDI would have; leader Yuri Andropov said it would put "the entire world in jeopardy". regarding the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the Los Angeles Olympics that summer, among other things. He became the first American president to open an Olympic Games held in the United States. The president's landslide victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota (by 3800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes, the most of any candidate in United States history, and critics also charged that the policies did little to reduce the availability of drugs on the street, while resulting in a great financial burden for America. Citing that there was "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed the terrorist bombing, In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the U.S. launched a series of air strikes on ground targets in Libya. The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office."

Immigration

Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to approximately 3 million illegal immigrants who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1982, and had lived in the country continuously. Critics argue that the employer sanctions were without teeth and failed to stem illegal immigration. Reagan's popularity declined from 67 percent to 46 percent in less than a week, the greatest and quickest decline ever for a president. In 1986 the USA was found guilty by the International Court of Justice (World Court) of war crimes against Nicaragua. At the same time, the Reagan Administration persuaded Saudi Arabia to increase oil production, These factors gradually brought the Soviet economy to a stagnant state during Gorbachev's tenure. Reagan's personal mission was to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons," which he regarded as "totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization." He was able to start discussions on nuclear disarmament with General Secretary Gorbachev. He and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the White House, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.

When Reagan visited Moscow for the fourth summit in 1988, he was viewed as a celebrity by the Soviets. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No," he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era." an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death. In November he informed the nation through a handwritten letter, and all four of Reagan's White House doctors said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president. Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely" did not "show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's". Reagan did experience occasional memory lapses, though, especially with names. Once, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to Vice President Bush as "Prime Minister Bush". several years after he had left office. His former Chief of Staff James Baker considered "ludicrous" the idea of Reagan sleeping during cabinet meetings. In contrast, Reagan's son, Ronald Reagan Jr., wrote in his 2011 memoir that he had noticed evidence of dementia as early as Reagan's first Presidential term, and that by 1986 Reagan was unable to recall the names of previously familiar landmarks near Los Angeles. citing what doctors told her, although head trauma has not been conclusively proven to accelerate Alzheimer's. He was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy. He remained active, however; he took walks through parks near his home and on beaches, played golf regularly, and often went to his office in nearby Century City. A short time after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer's Disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." and that the Iran-Contra affair lowered American credibility. In presidential surveys he has consistently been ranked in the first and second quartiles, with more recent surveys generally ranking Reagan in the first quartile of U.S. presidents.

Edwin Feulner, President of The Heritage Foundation, said that Reagan "helped create a safer, freer world" and said of his economic policies: "He took an America suffering from 'malaise'... and made its citizens believe again in their destiny." with many believing that Reagan's defense policies, hard line rhetoric against the Soviet Union and Communism, as well as summits with General Secretary Gorbachev played a significant part in ending the War. a conviction that was vindicated by Gennadi Gerasimov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman under Gorbachev, who said that Star Wars was "very successful blackmail. ... The Soviet economy couldn't endure such competition." That Reagan had little or no effect in ending the Cold War is argued with equal weight; that Communism's internal weakness had become apparent, and the Soviet Union would have collapsed in the end regardless of who was in power. President Harry Truman's policy of containment is also regarded as a force behind the fall of the U.S.S.R., and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined the Soviet system itself.

General Secretary Gorbachev said of his former rival's Cold War role: "[He was] a man who was instrumental in bringing about the end of the Cold War," Gorbachev does not acknowledge a win or loss in the war, but rather a peaceful end; he said he was not intimidated by Reagan's harsh rhetoric. The so-called "Reagan Democrats" were a result of his presidency.

Since leaving office, Reagan has become an iconic influence within the Republican party. and not get blamed for it." This was largely due to his opposition to affirmative action policies.

Honors

Reagan received a number of awards in his pre- and post-presidential years. Following his election as president, Reagan received a lifetime gold membership in the Screen Actors Guild, as well as the United States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award.

In 1989, Reagan was created an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, a British first class knighthood. This entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters GCB, but did not entitle him to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan". Only two American presidents have received the honor—Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Reagan was also named an honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. Japan awarded him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1989; he was the second American president to receive the award, but the first to have it given to him for personal reasons (Dwight D. Eisenhower received it as a commemoration of U.S.-Japanese relations).

from President George H.W. Bush in 1993]] On January 18, 1993, Reagan's former Vice-President and sitting President George H. W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that the United States can bestow. Reagan was also awarded the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by Republican members of the Senate.

On Reagan's 87th birthday, in 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by a bill signed into law by President Clinton. That year, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was dedicated in Washington, D.C. He was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people in 1999; two years later, USS Ronald Reagan was christened by Nancy Reagan and the United States Navy. It is one of few Navy ships christened in honor of a living person, and the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a living former president.

as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.]]

Congress authorized the creation of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Dixon, Illinois in 2002, pending federal purchase of the property. On May 16 of that year, Nancy Reagan accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the president and herself.

Following Reagan's death, the United States Postal Service issued a President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp in 2005. Later in the year, CNN, along with the editors of Time magazine, named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years; Time listed Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century as well. The Discovery Channel asked its viewers to vote for The Greatest American in an unscientific poll on June 26, 2005; Reagan received the honorary title.

In 2006, Reagan was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts. Every year since 2002, California Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have proclaimed February 6 "Ronald Reagan Day" in the state of California in honor of their most famous predecessor. In 2010, Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 944, authored by Senator George Runner, to make every February 6 Ronald Reagan Day in California.

In 2007, Polish President Lech Kaczyński posthumously awarded Reagan the highest Polish distinction, the Order of the White Eagle, saying that Reagan inspired the Polish people to work for change and helped to unseat the repressive communist regime; Kaczyński said it "would not have been possible if it was not for the tough-mindedness, determination, and feeling of mission of President Ronald Reagan". Reagan backed the nation of Poland throughout his presidency, supporting the anti-communist Solidarity movement, along with Pope John Paul II.

On June 3, 2009, Nancy Reagan unveiled a statue of her late husband in the United States Capitol rotunda. The statue represents the state of California in the National Statuary Hall Collection. Following Reagan's death, there was a bipartisan agreement to build a statue of Reagan and replace Thomas Starr King. The prior day, President Obama signed the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act into law, establishing a commission to plan activities to mark the upcoming 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth.

See also

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

List of Presidents of the United States

Political positions of Ronald Reagan

US Presidents on US postage stamps

Citations

References

Hayward, Steven F. The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980–1989 (2009) ISBN 0-307-45369-3 excerpt and text search

Pemberton, William E. Exit With Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan (1998) ISBN 0-7656-0096-X

Troy, Gil. The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (2009)

Further reading

External links

Official sites

Ronald Reagan's White House biography

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Ronald Reagan's major speeches

Ronald Reagan from Eureka College

News coverage

Ronald Reagan from The Washington Post

Ronald Reagan from Time magazine

Ronald Reagan CNN coverage

Ronald Reagan BBC biography

An hour remembrance of Ronald Reagan with Charlie Rose, June 8, 2004

Essays and historiographies

Extensive essay on Ronald Reagan and essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs

Introduction of Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s, a detailed account of Reagan's impact on the United States

Media

Ronald Reagan audio archives at NPR

Oral History Transcripts on the Reagan administration from the Miller Center of Public Affairs

Speech on role of chaplains in the military, based on 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Text version;

Korean Air Lines Flight 007">Speech on the 1983 Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007

Site directories

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Name	Richard M. Nixon
Order	37th President of the United States
Term start	January 20, 1969
Term end	August 9, 1974
Predecessor	Lyndon B. Johnson
Successor	Gerald Ford
Birth date	January 09, 1913
Birth place	Yorba Linda, California
Death date	April 22, 1994
Death place	New York City, New York
Restingplace	Nixon Presidential LibraryYorba Linda, California
Religion	Quaker
Signature	Richard Nixon Signature.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Spouse	Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan
Children	Tricia Nixon CoxJulie Nixon Eisenhower
Occupation	Lawyer
Alma mater	Whittier College (B.A.) Duke University School of Law (LL.B.)
Party	Republican
Vicepresident	Spiro Agnew (1969–1973)(Resigned, Oct 10, 1973)Gerald Ford (1973–1974)(Ascended to Presidency, August 9, 1974)
Order3	36th Vice President of the United States
Term start3	January 20, 1953
Term end3	January 20, 1961
Predecessor3	Alben W. Barkley
Successor3	Lyndon B. Johnson
President3	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Order4	United States Senator from California
Term start4	December 4, 1950
Term end4	January 1, 1953
Predecessor4	Sheridan Downey
Successor4	Thomas Kuchel
Order5	Member of the US House of Representatives from California's 12th District
Term start5	January 3, 1947
Term end5	December 1, 1950
Predecessor5	Jerry Voorhis
Successor5	Patrick J. Hillings
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1942–1946
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Awards	American Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with two service stars)World War II Victory Medal
Battles	World War II (Pacific Theater)

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974, having formerly been the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. A member of the Republican Party, he was the only President to resign the office as well as the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency.

Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law in La Habra. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific theater, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during World War II. He was elected in 1946 as a Republican to the House of Representatives representing California's 12th Congressional district, and in 1950 to the United States Senate. He was selected to be the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party nominee, in the 1952 Presidential election, becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents in history. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962; following these losses, Nixon announced his withdrawal from political life. In 1968, however, he ran again for president of the United States and was elected.

The most immediate task facing President Nixon was a resolution of the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict, overseeing incursions into neighboring countries, though American military personnel were gradually withdrawn and he successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. On the domestic front, he implemented the concept of New Federalism, transferring power from the federal government to the states; new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard; sweeping environmental reforms, including the Clean Air Act and creation of the EPA; the launch of the War on Cancer and War on Drugs; reforms empowering women, including Title IX; and the desegregation of schools in the deep South. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. He continued many reforms in his second term, though the nation was afflicted with an energy crisis. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, His mother was a Quaker, and his upbringing was marked by conservative Quaker observances of the time, such as refraining from drinking, dancing, and swearing. His father converted from Methodism to Quakerism after his marriage. he also taught Sunday school at East Whittier Friends Church, where he remained a member all his life. In 1934, he graduated second in his class from Whittier. In 1933, Nixon became engaged to Ola Florence Welch; daughter of the Whittier police chief; the two broke up in 1935. At the time, the law school was new and sought to attract the top students by offering scholarships. This high-expense approach to building a law school applied to the faculty as well, which was given high salaries; most professors had national or international reputations. Nixon later spoke about the influence of his alma mater, saying, "I always remember that whatever I have done in the past or may do in the future, Duke University is responsible in one way or another." where he worked on commercial litigation for local petroleum companies and other corporate matters as well as on wills.

By his own admission, Nixon would not work on divorce because he was "severely embarrassed by women's confessions of sexual misconduct." Nixon found the practice of law unexciting, but thought that it would gain him experience that would be beneficial in a future political career.

After a honeymoon in Mexico, the Nixons moved to Long Beach, then settled into an apartment in East Whittier a few months later.

World War II

Nixon was eligible for an exemption from military service, both as a Quaker and through his job working for the OPA, but he did not seek one and was commissioned into the United States Navy in August 1942. He was trained at Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island and was assigned to Ottumwa Naval Air Station, Iowa, for seven months. He was subsequently reassigned as the naval passenger control officer for the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command, supporting the logistics of operations in the South West Pacific theater. He resigned his commission on New Year's Day 1946. He helped finance the campaign with his World War II poker winnings. He was part of the Herter Committee, which went to Europe to prepare a preliminary report on the newly enacted Marshall Plan.

Nixon first gained national attention in 1948 when his investigation on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) broke the impasse of the Alger Hiss spy case. While many doubted Whittaker Chambers' allegations that Hiss, a high State Department official, was a Soviet spy, Nixon believed the allegations to be true. He discovered that Chambers saved microfilm reproductions of incriminating documents by hiding the film in a pumpkin. He was easily reelected in 1948.

Senate

In the 1950 mid-term elections, Nixon ran against Democratic Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas for a seat in the U.S. Senate, representing California. Conversely, Douglas referred to Nixon as "Tricky Dick", a derisive nickname which remained with him for the rest of his life. In the November election, Nixon defeated Douglas.

In the Senate, Nixon took a prominent position in opposing the spread of global communism, traveling frequently and speaking out against "the threat." He also criticized what he perceived to be President Harry S. Truman's mishandling of the Korean War. He supported statehood for Alaska and Hawaii, voted in favor of civil rights for minorities, and supported federal disaster relief for India and Yugoslavia.

Vice Presidency (1953–1961)

In part because of his reputation as an ardent anti-communist, 39-year-old Nixon was selected by Republican party nominee General Dwight D. Eisenhower to be the Vice Presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in July 1952. Nixon responded that the fund was not secret, and the campaign commissioned an independent review which showed that it was used only for political purposes. While it was the first time that a national politician released his tax returns, the speech became best known for its rhetoric, such as his remark that his wife Pat did not wear mink, but rather "a respectable Republican cloth coat," and that, although he had been given an American Cocker Spaniel named Checkers in addition to his other campaign contributions, he was not going to give the dog back because his daughters loved it. It became known as the "Checkers speech", it resulted in much support from the base of the Republican Party and from the general public, In the 1952 presidential elections, Eisenhower and Nixon defeated Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and Alabama Senator John Sparkman by seven million votes. Nixon assumed the office as the second youngest Vice President in American history. As President of the Senate, he intervened to make procedural rulings on filibusters to assure the passage of Eisenhower's 1957 civil rights bill, which created the United States Commission on Civil Rights and protected voting rights. On one such trip to Caracas, Venezuela, anti-American protesters disrupted and assaulted Nixon's motorcade, pelting his limousine with rocks, shattering windows, and injuring Venezuela's foreign minister. Nixon was lauded and attracted international media attention for his appearance of calm and coolness during the incidents.

In March 1957, he visited Libya for a program of economic and military aid. Before his visit, Nixon cautioned: "There is no magic formula which will settle the differences between us, no conference at the Summit which will dramatically end world tensions. The road to peace is a long and a hard one, and if we are to stay on it, both our people and our leaders must display patience and understanding to a maximum degree."

As Vice President, he officially opened the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. His Democratic opponent was John F. Kennedy, and the race remained close for the duration.

A new medium was brought to the campaign: televised presidential debates. In the first of four such debates, Nixon was recovering from illness and, wearing little makeup, looked wan and uncomfortable, in contrast to the composed Kennedy. Nixon's performance in the debate was perceived to be mediocre in the visual medium of television, though many people listening on the radio thought that Nixon had won. There were charges of vote fraud in Texas and Illinois; Nixon supporters unsuccessfully challenged results in both states as well as nine others. Nixon halted further investigations to avoid a Constitutional crisis. Nixon and Kennedy later met in Key Biscayne, Florida, where Kennedy offered Nixon a job in his administration, an offer which Nixon declined. It recorded his political involvement as a congressman, senator and vice president and used six different crises Nixon had experienced throughout his political career to illustrate his political memoirs. The work won praise from many policy experts and critics. It also found a favorable critic in Mao Zedong, who referred to the book during Nixon's visit in 1972. Despite initial reluctance, Nixon entered the race. The campaign was clouded by public suspicion that Nixon viewed the governorship as a political "stepping-stone" to a higher office, some opposition from the far-right of the party, and his own lack of interest in being California's governor. He lost to Brown by nearly 300,000 votes. This loss was widely believed to be the end of his career; in an impromptu concession speech the morning after the election, Nixon famously blamed the media for favoring his opponent, saying, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." The California defeat was highlighted in the November 11, 1962, episode of ABC's entitled "The Political Obituary of Richard M. Nixon." In 1963 the family bought an apartment at 810 Fifth Avenue. This reputation was enhanced when Nixon wrote an article in Foreign Affairs entitled "Asia After Vietnam", in which he proposed a new relationship with China. and took an extended trip to South America and parts of the Middle East in 1967. He formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 1, 1968.

1968 presidential election

in July 1968.]] Throughout the campaign, Nixon portrayed himself as a figure of stability during a period of national unrest and upheaval. President Lyndon B. Johnson, consumed with the Vietnam War, announced that he would not seek reelection. After a contentious Democratic primary campaign, Vice President Hubert Humphrey held a moderate but not decisive lead over Senator Robert F. Kennedy; however, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles following the final, California primary. Humphrey was nominated at a convention marked by mass protests. Nixon appeared to represent a calmer society. With regard to the Vietnam War, he promised peace with honor, and campaigned on the notion that "new leadership will end the war and win the peace in the Pacific." He did not give specific plans on how to end the war, resulting in media intimations that he must have a "".

In a three-way race between Nixon, Humphrey, and independent candidate George Wallace, Nixon defeated Humphrey by nearly 500,000 votes to become the 37th President of the United States on November 5, 1968. In response to a congratulatory message from Humphrey, Nixon said: "I have received a very gracious message from the Vice President, congratulating me for winning the election. I congratulated him for his gallant and courageous fight against great odds. I also told him that I know exactly how he felt. I know how it feels to lose a close one." He spoke about turning partisan politics into a new age of unity:

In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices. The most immediate task, however, was the Vietnam War.

Name	Nixon
President	Richard Nixon
President start	1969
President end	1974
Vice president	Spiro Agnew
Vice president start	1969
Vice president end	1973
Vice president 2	Gerald Ford
Vice president start 2	1973
Vice president end 2	1974
State	William P. Rogers
State start	1969
State end	1973
State 2	Henry Kissinger
State start 2	1973
State end 2	1974
Treasury	David M. Kennedy
Treasury start	1969
Treasury end	1971
Treasury 2	John Connally
Treasury start 2	1971
Treasury end 2	1972
Treasury 3	George Shultz
Treasury start 3	1972
Treasury end 3	1974
Treasury 4	William Simon
Treasury date 4	1974
Defense	Melvin R. Laird
Defense start	1969
Defense end	1973
Defense 2	Elliot Richardson
Defense date 2	1973
Defense 3	James Schlesinger
Defense start 3	1973
Defense end 3	1974
Justice	John N. Mitchell
Justice start	1969
Justice end	1972
Justice 2	Richard Kleindienst
Justice start 2	1972
Justice end 2	1973
Justice 3	Elliot Richardson
Justice date 3	1973
Justice 4	William B. Saxbe
Justice date 4	1974
Post	Winton M. Blount
Post start	1969
Post end	1971
Interior	Walter Joseph Hickel
Interior start	1969
Interior end	1971
Interior 2	Rogers Morton
Interior start 2	1971
Interior end 2	1974
Agriculture	Clifford M. Hardin
Agriculture start	1969
Agriculture end	1971
Agriculture 2	Earl Butz
Agriculture start 2	1971
Agriculture end 2	1974
Commerce	Maurice Stans
Commerce start	1969
Commerce end	1972
Commerce 2	Peter Peterson
Commerce start 2	1972
Commerce end 2	1973
Commerce 3	Frederick B. Dent
Commerce start 3	1973
Commerce end 3	1974
Labor	George Shultz
Labor start	1969
Labor end	1970
Labor 2	James D. Hodgson
Labor start 2	1970
Labor end 2	1973
Labor 3	Peter J. Brennan
Labor start 3	1973
Labor end 3	1974
Health, education, and welfare	Robert Finch
Health, education, and welfare start	1969
Health, education, and welfare end	1970
Health, education, and welfare 2	Elliot Richardson
Health, education, and welfare start 2	1970
Health, education, and welfare end 2	1973
Health, education, and welfare 3	Caspar Weinberger
Health, education, and welfare start 3	1973
Health, education, and welfare end 3	1974
Housing and urban development	George W. Romney
Housing and urban development start	1969
Housing and urban development end	1973
Housing and urban development 2	James Thomas Lynn
Housing and urban development start 2	1973
Housing and urban development end 2	1974
Transportation	John A. Volpe
Transportation start	1969
Transportation end	1973
Transportation 2	Claude Brinegar
Transportation start 2	1973
Transportation end 2	1974

in Reykjavík, Iceland, 31 May 1973.]]

Vietnam War

When Nixon took office, 300 American soldiers were dying per week in Vietnam. The Johnson administration had negotiated a deal in which the U.S. would suspend bombing in North Vietnam in exchange for unconditional negotiations, but this faltered. Nixon faced the choice of devising a new policy to chance securing South Vietnam as a non-communist state, or withdrawing American forces completely. He then proposed simultaneous substantial withdrawals of North Vietnamese and American forces from South Vietnam one year after reaching a mutual agreement. He soon enacted phased U.S. troop withdrawals but authorized incursions into Laos, in part to interrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail that passed through Laos and Cambodia. Nixon's 1968 campaign promise to curb the war and his subsequent Laos bombing raised questions in the press about a "credibility gap", similar to that encountered earlier in the war by Lyndon B. Johnson. Under President Nixon, American involvement in the war steadily declined from a troop strength of 543,000 to zero in 1973. Once American support was diminished, in 1975, North Vietnam was able to conquer South Vietnam and formed one country.

Economy

Under Nixon, direct payments from the federal government to individual American citizens in government benefits (including Social Security and Medicare) rose from 6.3% of the Gross National Product (GNP) to 8.9%. Food aid and public assistance also rose, beginning at $6.6 billion and escalating to $9.1 billion. Defense spending decreased from 9.1% to 5.8% of the GNP. The revenue sharing program pioneered by Nixon delivered $80 billion to individual states and municipalities. Nixon then spoke to the American public, saying that by "Working together, we will break the back of inflation."

Another large part of Nixon's plan was the detachment of the dollar from the gold standard. By the time Nixon took office, U.S. gold reserves had declined from $25 billion to $10.5 billion. Gold was an underpriced commodity, as the dollar was overpriced as a currency. The United States was on the verge of running its first trade deficit in over 75 years. Nixon felt that the dollar should float freely like other currencies. an end to fixed exchange rates, devaluation of the dollar on the free market, and a 10% tax on all imports into the U.S. Income per family rose, and unionization declined.

Nixon wanted to lift the spirits of the country as polls showed increasing concern about the economy. His program was viewed by nearly everyone as exceptionally bold, and astounded the Democrats. Nixon soon experienced a bounce in the polls.

Initiatives within the federal government

Noam Chomsky remarked that, in many respects, Nixon was "the last liberal president." and the Council on Environmental Quality.

In 1971, Nixon proposed the creation of four new government departments superseding the current structure: departments organized for the goal of efficient and effective public service as opposed to the thematic bases of Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, et al. Departments including the State, Treasury, Defense, and Justice would remain under this proposal. and supported the Legacy of parks program, which transferred ownership of federally owned land to the states, resulting in the establishment of state parks and beaches, recreational areas, and environmental education centers.

Civil rights

The Nixon years witnessed the first large-scale integration of public schools in the South. and concentrated on the principle that the law must be color-blind: "I am convinced that while legal segregation is totally wrong, forced integration of housing or education is just as wrong." All U.S. Project Apollo moon landings, and the attempted moon landing of Apollo 13, took place during Nixon's first term. On November 14, 1969, he became the first incumbent president to attend a rocket launch, Apollo 12. Richard Nixon's signature is included on the plaque left by the Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon in 1969. American public opinion was concerned with the atrocities

Nixon relayed messages to Yahya, urging him to restrain Pakistani forces.

Nixon met with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and did not believe her assertion that she would not invade Pakistan; because he favored a cease-fire. This was significant in that the fifteen-member table tennis team were allowed to enter mainland China after a period of over twenty years in which Americans, except on very rare occasions, had been denied visas Soon, the world was stunned to learn that Nixon intended to visit Communist China the following year.

Nixon and Kissinger were soon summoned to an hour-long meeting with Mao and Zhou at Mao's official private residence, where they discussed a range of issues. He also said he was suspicious of Kissinger, though the National Security Advisor referred to their meeting as his "encounter with history." A formal banquet welcoming the presidential party was conducted that evening in the Great Hall of the People. The following day, Nixon met with Chou; during this meeting he stated that he believed “there is one China, and Taiwan is a part of China.” Americans received their first glance into China via Pat Nixon, who toured the city of Beijing and visited communes, schools, factories, and hospitals accompanied by the American media.

The visit ushered in a new era of Sino-American relations. Fearing the possibility of a Sino-American alliance, the Soviet Union yielded to American pressure for détente. with his Soviet counterpart. Out of this "summit meeting" came agreements for increased trade and two landmark arms control treaties: SALT I, the first comprehensive limitation pact signed by the two superpowers, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. Nixon and Brezhnev proclaimed a new era of "peaceful coexistence" and established groundbreaking new policy of détente (or cooperation) between the two superpowers. Détente would replace the hostility of the Cold War and the two countries would enjoy peaceful relations. A banquet was held that evening at the Kremlin.

Nixon extended the Nixon Doctrine from Vietnam to his policy toward the Soviet Union, believing that helping Iran become stronger would check the Soviets' power. Nixon and Brezhnev met in Yalta, where they discussed a proposed mutual defense pact, détente, and MIRVs. While he considered proposing a comprehensive test-ban treaty, Nixon felt that it would take far too long to accomplish. There were not any significant breakthroughs in these negotiations.

1972 presidential campaign

Nixon entered his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot on January 5, 1972, effectively announcing his candidacy for reelection. the President had expected his Democratic opponent to be Senator Ted Kennedy, Though Muskie defeated McGovern in the New Hampshire primary, his showings were poorer in Florida and he soon ended his campaign. He announced the Equal Education Opportunities bill that would seek a moratorium on local school busing; Nixon re-imposed price controls in June 1973, echoing his 1971 plan, as food prices rose; this time, he focused on agricultural exports and limited the freeze to 60 days.

The price controls became unpopular with the public and businesspeople, who saw powerful labor unions as preferable to the price board bureaucracy. Business owners, however, now saw the controls as permanent rather than temporary, and voluntary compliance decreased. The controls produced food shortages, as meat disappeared from grocery stores and farmers drowned chickens rather than sell them at a loss. The controls were slowly ended, and by April 30, 1974, the control authority from Congress had lapsed. However, the controls on oil and natural gas prices persisted for several years. Nixon also dramatically increased spending on federal employees' salaries while the economy was plagued by the 1973–1974 stock market crash. This became one of a series of scandalous acts involving the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, and his White House denounced the story as biased and misleading. As the FBI eventually confirmed that Nixon aides had attempted to sabotage the Democrats, many began resigning and senior aides faced prosecution.

Nixon's alleged role in ordering a cover-up came to light after the testimony of John Dean. Unlike the tape recordings by earlier Presidents, Nixon's were subpoenaed. The White House refused to release them, citing executive privilege. A tentative deal was reached in which the White House would provide written summaries of the tapes, but this was rejected by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, a former member of the Kennedy administration. Cox was fired at the White House's request and was replaced by Leon Jaworski, a former member of the Johnson administration. Jaworski revealed an audio tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20, 1972, which featured an unexplained 18½ minute gap. The first deleted section of about five minutes has been attributed to human error by Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, who admitted accidentally wiping the section while transcribing the tape. The gap, while not conclusive proof of wrong-doing by the President, cast doubt on Nixon's claim that he was unaware of the cover-up. He insisted that he had made mistakes, but had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the coverup until early 1973. Nixon said, }}

In April 1974, Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. Despite this, the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Democrats, opened impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974. These hearings resulted in bi-partisan votes for Articles of Impeachment, the first vote being 27-11 in favor on July 27, 1974 on obstruction of justice. On July 24, the Supreme Court (including 5 Republican-appointed Justices, three of them appointed by Nixon) then ruled unanimously in the case of United States v. Nixon that the tapes must be released to Jaworski; one of the secret recordings, known as the Smoking Gun tape, was released on August 5, 1974, and revealed that Nixon knew of the cover-up from its inception and had suggested to administration officials that they try to stop the FBI's investigation. In light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.

The resignation speech was delivered on August 8, 1974, at 9:01 p.m. Eastern time from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television. The core of the speech was Nixon's announcement that Gerald Ford, as Vice President, would succeed to the presidency, effective at noon Eastern time the next day. Around this announcement, he discussed his feelings about his presidential work and general political issues that would need attention once he left. He never admitted to criminal wrongdoing, although he conceded errors of judgment. During the Watergate scandal, Nixon's approval rating fell to 23%. It was discovered that a clot from his leg had broken off and traveled to his lung; to treat this, he was placed on an anti-coagulant intravenous machine. which was rejected. An eighteen-inch blood clot was found in a vein leading to Nixon's heart. Surgery was deemed necessary for his survival; he underwent a ninety-minute operation on October 29. While recuperating, Nixon fainted, fell out of bed, and fell into a coma. His family stayed by his side, while he was visited by Ford and telephoned by Mao Zedong. He returned home on November 14. Three leading doctors sent by the judge in the Watergate trial evaluated Nixon's condition, and concluded that he was not able to testify. The judge ruled that his testimony would not be necessary. He maintained an office in a Coast Guard station 300 yards from his home, first taking a golf cart and later walking the route each day; he mainly worked on his memoirs. At the invitation of Mao Zedong, Nixon traveled to China in February 1976. His trip was initially criticized, including by some within his own party, who argued that citizen-Nixon was conducting U.S. foreign policy. The well-publicized trip was deemed a success, however; upon his return, Nixon prepared a lengthy memorandum on his experiences that was sent to the White House. Nixon did not admit to criminal wrongdoing, denied criminal intent, He was criticized at the time by some who opined that he should not be giving information to Frost that he had declined to give to federal courts. and their respective releases enabled Nixon to further his comeback effort by partaking in book tours. The Nixons moved to New York City in February 1980 to be closer to their family.

When the former Shah of Iran died in Egypt in July 1980, Nixon defied President Jimmy Carter's State Department by attending the funeral. Throughout the 1980s, Nixon maintained a routine schedule of speaking engagements and writing, traveled, and met with many foreign leaders, especially those of Third World countries. He joined former Presidents Ford and Carter as representatives of the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat. On a trip to the Middle East, Nixon made his views known regarding Saudi Arabia and Libya, which attracted significant U.S. media attention; The Washington Post ran stories on Nixon's "rehabilitation." On his return from the Soviet Union, Nixon sent President Ronald Reagan a lengthy memorandum that contained foreign policy suggestions and his personal impressions of Mikhail Gorbachev. Following this trip, Nixon was ranked in Gallup's most admired man and woman poll as one of the ten most admired men in the world.

Elder statesman

In 1986, Nixon gave an address to a convention of newspaper publishers, impressing his audience with his tour d'horizon of the world. Newsweek, among other publications, He gained respect as an elder statesman in the area of foreign affairs, being consulted by both Republican and Democratic successors to the presidency; Reagan sought Nixon's advice in dealing with Gorbachev. Nixon was comforted by his family while former presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and their wives attended the ceremony.

Death and funeral

Nixon suffered a severe stroke at 5:45 p.m. EDT on April 18, 1994, while preparing to eat dinner in his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. Damage to the brain caused swelling (cerebral edema) and Nixon slipped into a deep coma. On April 22, 1994, he died at 9:08 p.m., with his daughters at his bedside; he was 81.

Nixon's funeral took place on April 27, 1994, the first for an American president since that of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973, which Nixon had presided over as president. Held at the Nixon Library, eulogists included then-President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, California Governor Pete Wilson, and the Reverend Billy Graham. In keeping with his wishes, his funeral was not a full state funeral, though his body did lie in repose in the Nixon Library lobby from April 26 to the morning of the funeral services.

Although he did not achieve all that he had wished for in the Middle East, Nixon virtually expelled the Soviet Union from the region and initiated a long peace process. He began formal relations with China and improved relations with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he decentralized government by revenue sharing, greatly reduced segregation in schools, reduced inflation (until it rose again as a result of the oil cartels), ended the gold standard, reduced the crime rate, and pioneered positive environmental measures. As a result of the Watergate scandal, however, the mood of the nation was severely affected and the office of the presidency was demeaned. He advised people not to care about what others thought of them. Some experts have described him as having a narcissistic and paranoid personality.

In popular culture

Nixon has been portrayed in multiple TV shows, films, plays, audio recordings.

In Oliver Stone's 1995 biopic Nixon he was played by Anthony Hopkins

In the 2008 movie Frost/Nixon directed by Ron Howard he was played by Frank Langella

In the film Secret Honor directed by Robert Altman he was played by Philip Baker Hall

Portrayed favourably in the song The Love of Richard Nixon by Manic Street Preachers - a Welsh rock trio whose members were all age 5 at the time of Nixon's resignation.

His likeness appears in the video game during the "Zombie Mode 'Five'", a single-player or cooperative mode where four players incarnate Nixon, Kennedy, Fidel Castro or Robert McNamara. He is voiced by Dave Mallow.

See also

Samuel Byck, assassination planner

Bibliography

Notes

References

http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html Information on SS Amendments of 1972 and http://www.ssa.gov/history/1970.html

External links

Richard Nixon Foundation

The Nixon Center, Washington, D.C.

Richard Nixon Presidential Library

White House biography

Richard Nixon: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress

The Watergate Tapes

Account of the day Nixon had his fatal stroke in April 1994

Nixon's will

* Category:American anti-communists Category:American lawyers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American people of the Vietnam War Category:American Quakers Category:California Republicans Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Disbarred lawyers Category:Disease-related deaths in New York Category:Duke University alumni Category:Eisenhower Administration personnel Category:History of the United States (1964–1980) Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from California Category:Nixon administration personnel Category:People from Orange County, California Category:Presidents of the United States Category:Recipients of American presidential pardons Category:Republican Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:United States Navy officers Category:United States presidential candidates, 1960 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1968 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1972 Category:United States Senators from California Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 1952 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 1956 Category:U.S. Presidents surviving assassination attempts Category:Vice Presidents of the United States Category:Watergate figures Category:Whittier College alumni Category:1913 births Category:1994 deaths Category:20th-century presidents of the United States Category:20th-century vice presidents of the United States Category:Republican Party Presidents of the United States Category:Republican Party Vice Presidents of the United States Category:Republican Party United States Senators Category:Time Persons of the Year

Name	Newt Gingrich
Imagesize	220px
Caption	Official congressional photo.
Order	58th
Office	Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Term start	January 4, 1995
Term end	January 3, 1999
President	Bill Clinton
Predecessor	Tom Foley
Successor	Dennis Hastert
Order2	16th United States House of Representatives Minority Whip
Term start2	March 20, 1989
Term end2	January 3, 1995
Leader2	Robert Michel
Predecessor2	Dick Cheney
Successor2	David Bonior
Order3	Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Georgia's 6th district
Term start3	January 3, 1979
Term end3	January 3, 1999
Predecessor3	Jack Flynt
Successor3	Johnny Isakson
Birth date	June 17, 1943
Birth place	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Birthname	Newton Leroy McPherson
Party	Republican
Spouse	Jackie Battley (1962-1981)Marianne Ginther (1981-2000)Callista Gingrich (2000-current)
Residence	Carrollton, Georgia (1979-1993, while in office)Marietta, Georgia (1993-1999, while in office)McLean, Virginia (current)
Alma mater	Emory University (B.A.)Tulane University (M.A./Ph.D.)
Occupation	College ProfessorAuthorPolitician
Religion	Roman Catholic (formerly Baptist)
Signature	Newt Gingrich Signature.svg

Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich (; June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Time magazine selected him as the Person of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of the Democratic Party being in the majority. During his tenure as Speaker, he represented the public face of the Republican opposition to President Bill Clinton.

A college professor, historian, and author, Gingrich twice ran unsuccessfully for the House before winning a seat in the election of November 1978. He was re-elected ten times, and his activism as a member of the House's Republican minority eventually enabled him to succeed Dick Cheney as House Minority Whip in 1989. As a co-author of the 1994 Contract with America, Gingrich was in the forefront of the Republican Party's dramatic success in that year's Congressional elections and subsequently was elected Speaker of the House. Gingrich's leadership in Congress was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration.

Since resigning his seat, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst and consultant. He continues to write works related to government and other subjects, such as historical fiction. Recently, he founded the 527 group American Solutions for Winning the Future,

President Clinton found the legislation more conservative than he would have preferred; however, having vetoed two earlier welfare proposals from the Republican-majority Congress, it was considered a political risk to veto a third bill during a campaign season with welfare reform as a central theme. As he signed the bill on August 22, 1996, Clinton stated that the act "gives us a chance we haven't had before to break the cycle of dependency that has existed for millions and millions of our fellow citizens, exiling them from the world of work. It gives structure, meaning and dignity to most of our lives."

After the passage of the bill, Gingrich continued to press for welfare reform and increasing employment opportunities for welfare recipients. In his 1998 book Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Gingrich outlined a multi-step plan to improve economic opportunities for the poor. The plan called for encouraging volunteerism and spiritual renewal, placing more importance on families, creating tax incentives and reducing regulations for businesses in poor neighborhoods, and increasing property ownership for low-income families. Gingrich cited his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity as an example of where he observed that it was more rewarding for people to be actively involved in improving their lives—by building their own homes—than by receiving welfare payments from the government.

Balancing the federal budget

As key aspect of the Contract with America was the promise of a balanced federal budget. After the end of the government shutdown, Gingrich and other Republican leaders acknowledged that Congress would not be able to draft a balanced budget in 1996. Instead, they opted to approve some small reductions that were already approved by the White House and to wait until the election season.

By May 1997, Republican congressional leaders reached a compromise with the Democrats and President Clinton on the federal budget. The agreement called for a federal spending plan designed to reduce the federal deficit and achieve a balanced budget by 2002. The plan included a total of $152 billion in Republican sponsored tax cuts over five years. Other major parts of the spending plan called for $115 billion to be saved through a restructuring of Medicare, $24 billion set aside to extend health insurance to children of the working poor, tax credits for college tuition, and a $2 billion welfare-to-work jobs initiative.

President Clinton signed the budget legislation in August 1997. At the signing, Gingrich gave credit to ordinary Americans stating, "It was their political will that brought the two parties together.”

In early 1998, with the economy performing better than expected, increased tax revenues helped reduce the federal budget deficit to below $25 billion. Gingrich then called upon President Clinton to submit a balanced budget for 1999—three years ahead of schedule—which Clinton did, making it the first time the federal budget had been balanced since 1969.

Other legislation

Shortly after the Republicans won the House majority, Gingrich promised that the House would be on the Internet by the opening day of the 104th United States Congress. In January 1995, Gingrich and the Library of Congress unveiled THOMAS, an Internet-accessible database of congressional information. THOMAS initially included text versions of bills of the 103rd United States Congress, directory information, and other legislative materials. Commenting on the new system, Gingrich said, "This will change the balance of power in America toward the citizens out of the Beltway. There will be a shift to talking about ideas, not personalities."

Among the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress under Gingrich was the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, which subjected members of Congress to the same laws that apply to U.S. businesses and their employees, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As a provision of the Contract with America, the law was symbolic of the new Republican majority's goal to remove some of the entitlements enjoyed by Congress. The bill received near universal acceptance from the House and Senate and was signed into law on January 23, 1995.

Government shutdown

The momentum of the Republican Revolution stalled in late 1995 and early 1996 during a budget standoff between Congressional Republicans and Democratic President Bill Clinton. Speaker Gingrich and the new Republican majority wanted to slow the rate of government spending. Gingrich allowed previously approved appropriations to expire on schedule, thus allowing parts of the federal government to shut down for lack of funds. Prior to the government shutdown, Congress passed several continuing resolutions for funding, although both were vetoed by President Clinton.

However, Gingrich inflicted a blow to his public image by seeming to suggest that the Republican hardline stance over the budget was in part due to his feeling "snubbed" by the President during a flight to and from Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel. The subsequent event caused Gingrich to get lampooned by some in the media, with one editorial cartoon depicted him as having thrown a temper tantrum. Democratic leaders took the opportunity to attack Gingrich's motives for the budget standoff, which may have contributed to Clinton's re-election in November 1996. Gingrich later commented on the incident, "Everybody in Washington thinks that was a big mistake. They're exactly wrong. There had been no reelected Republican majority since 1928. Part of the reason we got reelected ... is our base thought we were serious. And they thought we were serious because when it came to a show-down, we didn't flinch."

In her autobiography Living History, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton shows a picture of Bill Clinton, Dole, and Gingrich laughing on the plane. Gingrich commented on this event in his book Lessons Learned the Hard Way, claiming that the picture was taken on the plane going to Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel rather than on the return trip from Israel.

Ethics sanctions

During Gingrich's term as Speaker, eighty-four ethics charges were filed against him, most of which were leveled by House Democratic Whip David Bonior. Eighty-three of the eighty-four allegations were dropped.

The remaining charge consisted of two counts “of failure to seek legal advice” and one count of “providing the committee with information which he knew or should have known was inaccurate” concerning the use of a tax exempt college course for political purposes. On January 21, 1997, the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 “cost assessment” to recoup money spent on the investigation.

The full committee panel did not reach a conclusion about whether the “Renewing American Civilization” college course had violated federal tax law and instead opted to leave it up to the IRS. In 1999, the IRS cleared the organizations connected with the courses under investigation for possible tax violations.

Leadership challenge

In the summer of 1997 several House Republican backbenchers, who saw Gingrich's public image as a liability, attempted to replace him as Speaker. The attempted "coup" began July 9 with a meeting between Republican conference chairman John Boehner of Ohio and Republican leadership chairman Bill Paxon of New York. According to their plan, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, Boehner and Paxon were to present Gingrich with an ultimatum: resign, or be voted out. However, Armey balked at the proposal to make Paxon the new Speaker, and told his chief of staff to warn Gingrich about the coup.

On July 11, Gingrich met with senior Republican leadership to assess the situation. He explained that under no circumstance would he step down. If he was voted out, there would be a new election for Speaker, which would allow for the possibility that Democrats—along with dissenting Republicans—would vote in Dick Gephardt as Speaker. On July 16, Paxon offered to resign his post, feeling that he had not handled the situation correctly, as the only member of the leadership who had been appointed to his position—by Gingrich—instead of elected.

Resignation

By 1998, Gingrich had become a highly visible and polarizing figure in the public's eye, making him a target for Democratic congressional candidates across the nation. His approval rating was 45% in April 1998.

Republicans lost five seats in the House in the 1998 midterm elections — the worst performance in 64 years for a party that didn't hold the presidency. Polls showed that Gingrich and the Republican Party's attempt to remove President Clinton from office was widely unpopular among Americans.

Gingrich suffered much of the blame for the election loss. Facing another rebellion in the Republican caucus, he announced on November 6, 1998 that he would not only stand down as Speaker, but would leave the House as well. He had been handily reelected to an 11th term in that election, but declined to take his seat. Commenting on his departure, Gingrich said, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals. My only fear would be that if I tried to stay, it would just overshadow whoever my successor is."

Post-Speakership

Gingrich has since remained involved in national politics and public policy debate. He is a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, focusing upon health care, information technology, the military and politics. In 2003, he founded the Center for Health Transformation to develop a 21st Century System of Health and Healthcare that is centered on the individual, prevention focused, knowledge intense, and innovation rich.

In September 2007, Gingrich founded American Solutions for Winning the Future. The stated mission of the group is to become the "leading grassroots movement to recruit, educate, and empower citizen activists and elected officials to develop solutions to transform all levels of government." Gingrich spoke of the group and its objectives at the CPAC conference of 2008 and currently serves as its General Chairman.

Gingrich is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution, focusing on U.S. politics, world history, national security policy, and environmental policy issues. He sometimes serves as a commentator, guest or panel member on cable news shows, such as the Fox News Channel. He is listed as a contributor by Fox News Channel, and frequently appears as a guest on various segments; he has also hosted occasional specials for the Fox News Channel. Gingrich is also a guiding coalition member of the Project on National Security Reform.

Newt and his wife, Callista Gingrich, host and produce historical and public policy documentaries. Recent films include, America at Risk, Nine Days that Changed the World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, and We Have the Power.

Besides politics, Gingrich has authored a book, Rediscovering God in America, attempting to demonstrate that the Founding Fathers actively intended the new republic to not only allow, but encourage, religious expression in the public square. Since Gingrich has, "dedicated much of his time to calling America back to our Christian heritage," Jerry Falwell invited him to be the speaker, for the second time, at Liberty University's graduation, on May 19, 2007. Speaker Gingrich has also collaborated with David Bossie and Citizens United to produce and co-host with his wife, Callista Gingrich, two documentaries which share their names with the book.

Declined 2008 presidential run

Between 2005 and 2007, Gingrich expressed interest in being a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for the Presidency. On October 13, 2005, Gingrich suggested he was considering a run for president, saying, "There are circumstances where I will run", elaborating that those circumstances would be if no other candidate champions some of the platform ideas he advocates. On September 28, 2007, Gingrich announced that if his supporters pledged $30 million to his campaign (until October 21), he would seek the nomination.

However, insisting that he had “pretty strongly” considered running, on September 29 spokesman Rick Tyler said that Gingrich would not seek the presidency in 2008 because he could not continue to serve as chairman of American Solutions if he did so. Citing campaign finance law restrictions (the McCain-Feingold campaign law would have forced him to leave his American Solutions political organization if he declared his candidacy), Gingrich said, "I wasn't prepared to abandon American Solutions, even to explore whether a campaign was realistic."

2009 Election Involvement

During the 2009 special election in New York's 23rd congressional district, Gingrich endorsed candidate Dede Scozzafava, who had been chosen by the eleven Republican Party county chairs, in spite of criticism from the conservative base to which Gingrich has traditionally appealed. For this, he was heavily criticised for this endorsment, with Conservatives questioning his candidacy for President in 2012 and even comparing him to Benedict Arnold, a traitor during America's War of Independence. Gingrich has since regretted his decision.

2012 presidential speculation

Tea Party protests.]] Several political commentators, including Marc Ambinder in The Atlantic and Robert Novak in the Washington Post, have identified Gingrich as a top contender for a presidential run in the 2012 election, with Ambinder stating that he "is already planting some seeds in Iowa, New Hampshire". A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling indicated that Gingrich was the leading GOP Contender for the Republican nomination with 23% of likely Republican voters saying they would vote for him.

Gingrich warned, "If the Republicans can’t break out of being the right wing party of big government, then I think you would see a third party movement in 2012." Gingrich thrashed Republicans for allowing increased spending during the Bush administration and for not doing enough to block President Barack Obama's early initiatives. In an interview from On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Gingrich said, "I am very sad that a number of Republicans do not understand that this country is sick of earmarks. They are sick of politicians taking care of themselves. They are sick of their money being spent in a way that is absolutely indefensible ... I think you're going to see a steady increase in the number of incumbents who have opponents because the American taxpayers are increasingly fed up." Gingrich noted how, at American Solutions, the organization is "working to help people with the April 15 taxpayers parties," because it was good for those Americans who are fed up to communicate how ready they are to fire some of their incumbents next year. When asked if he is thinking of running in 2012, Gingrich replied, "I want to spend all of 2009 trying to develop good policies at American Solutions ... trying to defeat bad policies, like the effort to take away your right to a secret ballot before being forced to join a union. We need to focus everybody on 2009 and finding solutions this year because we are on the edge of being in big trouble."

Personal life

Gingrich has been married three times. In 1962, he married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26. They had two daughters. In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther. According to Battley, Gingrich visited her while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery to discuss the details of their divorce. Six months after it was final, Gingrich wed Ginther in 1981.

In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior; they continued their affair during the Lewinsky scandal. In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce from second wife Ginther. He and Callista currently live in McLean, Virginia.

Conversion to Catholicism

A Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich converted to Catholicism, his wife's faith, on March 29, 2009.

Book reviews

Gingrich has been a prolific amateur reviewer of books, especially of military histories and spy novels, for Amazon.com. As of 2004, Gingrich held the #488 spot among Amazon's top reviewers. Although a prolific author himself, Gingrich does not review his own works. According to The Weekly Standard, it is "clear that Newt is fascinated by tipping points--moments where new technology or new ideas cause revolutionary change in the way the world works."

Personal interests

Newt Gingrich is known for, and has written on several occasions about, his love of animals. According to USA Today, Gingrich's first engagement in civic affairs was speaking to the city council in his hometown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, about why the city should establish its own zoological park. He also played an important role in the creation of the Atlanta zoo. Gingrich wrote the introduction for the 2008 book America's Best Zoos. Gingrich is also known as a dinosaur enthusiast. A New Yorker comment on his 1995 book To Renew America noted: "Charmingly, he has retained his enthusiasm for the extinct giants into middle age. In addition to including breakthroughs in dinosaur research on his list of futuristic wonders, he specified 'people interested in dinosaurs' as a prime example of who might benefit from his education proposals."

Political positions

Newt Gingrich has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments and legislative record, including as Speaker of the House. The political initiative with which he is most widely identified was the Contract With America, which outlined an economic and social agenda designed to improve the efficiency of government while reducing its burden on the American taxpayer. Passage of the Contract helped establish Gingrich's reputation a public intellectual. His engagement of public issues has continued through to the present, in particular as the founder of American Solutions for Winning the Future.

Gingrich’s policy reach covers everything from national security to personal responsibility, but Gingrich has been known to take stances that are different from the traditional Republican line. For instance, on immigration, he favors a strong border policy but also favors a guest worker program. Gingrich has authored or co-authored 16 non-fiction books since 1982, several of them bestsellers. In recent years, his works have had a more large scale policy focus, including Winning the Future, and the most recent, To Save America. In recent years, Gingrich has identified education as "the number one factor in our future prosperity," and received national attention for partnering with the Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to promote the issue.

Books written

Nonfiction

The Government's Role in Solving Societal Problems. Associated Faculty Press, Incorporated. January 1982 ISBN 0-86733-026-0

Window of Opportunity. Tom Doherty Associates, December 1985. ISBN 0-312-93923-X

Contract with America (co-editor). Times Books, December 1994. ISBN 0-8129-2586-6

Restoring the Dream. Times Books, May 1995. ISBN 0-8129-2666-8

Quotations from Speaker Newt. Workman Publishing Company, Inc., July 1995. ISBN 0-7611-0092-X

To Renew America. Farrar Straus & Giroux, July 1996. ISBN 0-06-109539-7

Lessons Learned The Hard Way. HarperCollins Publishers, May 1998 ISBN 0-06-019106-6

Presidential Determination Regarding Certification of the Thirty-Two Major Illicit Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries. DIANE Publishing Company, September 1999. ISBN 0-7881-3186-9

Saving Lives and Saving Money. Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, April 2003. ISBN 0-9705485-4-0

Winning the Future. Regnery Publishing, January 2005. ISBN 0-89526-042-5

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future. Integrity Publishers, October 2006. ISBN 1-59145-482-4

A Contract with the Earth, Johns Hopkins University Press, October 1, 2007. ISBN 0-8018-8780-2

Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works. Regnery Publishing, January 2008. ISBN 978-1596980532

Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis. With Vince Haley. Regnery Publishing, September 2008 ISBN 1596985763

5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours. With Jackie Gingrich Cushman. Crown Publishing Group, May 2009 ISBN 978-0-307-46232-9

To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine. With Joe DeSantis. Regnery Publishing, May 2010 ISBN 978-1-59698-596-4

Alternative history

Gingrich co-wrote the following alternate history novels and series of novels with William R. Forstchen.

1945 Baen Books, August 1995 ISBN 978-0671877392

Civil War Series

Thomas Dunne Books, June 2003 ISBN 978-0312309350

Grant Comes East Thomas Dunne Books, June 2004 ISBN 0-312-30937-6

Thomas Dunne Books, June 2005 ISBN 0-312-34298-5

Pacific War Series

Thomas Dunne Books, May 2007 ISBN 0-312-36350-8

Days of Infamy Thomas Dunne Books, April 2008 ISBN 0-312-36351-6

Revolutionary War Series

To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom Oct 2009, ISBN 9780312591069

References

;Books

;Journals ;Web

External links

Newt Gingrich official site

Senior Fellow at The American Enterprise Institute

Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Hoover Institute

Newt Gingrich at YouTube

Winning the Future column archives at Human Events

The Long March of Newt Gingrich PBS Frontline, Peter Boyer and Stephen Talbot, January 16, 1996. transcript chronology interviews work and writings

American Solutions, founded by Newt Gingrich

The Gingrich RX ScribeMedia.org, December 15, 2006

VoteNewt.net — grassroots campaign for people to vote Newt in 2008

Category:Adoptees adopted by relations Category:Alternate history writers Category:American adoptees Category:American Enterprise Institute Category:American political writers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American Roman Catholic politicians Category:Censured or reprimanded United States Representatives Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Category:Kennesaw State University people Category:Literary collaborators Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Military brats Category:People from Columbus, Georgia Category:People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Category:People from McLean, Virginia Category:Speakers of the United States House of Representatives Category:Tea Party movement Category:Tulane University alumni Category:University of West Georgia faculty Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Emory University Category:Time Persons of the Year Category:Fox News Channel people

Name	Mark Dayton
Order	40th
Office	Governor of Minnesota
Lieutenant	Yvonne Prettner Solon
Term start	January 3, 2011
Predecessor	Tim Pawlenty
Jr/sr2	Senior
State2	Minnesota
Term start2	January 3, 2001
Term end2	January 3, 2007
Predecessor2	Rod Grams
Successor2	Amy Klobuchar
Order3	15th Auditor of Minnesota
Governor3	Arne Carlson
Term start3	January 7, 1991
Term end3	January 3, 1995
Predecessor3	Arne Carlson
Successor3	Judi Dutcher
Birth date	January 26, 1947
Birth place	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Party	Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Residence	Governor's Residence
Alma mater	Yale University
Religion	Presbyterianism
Website	Office of Governor DaytonMark Dayton

Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician, the 40th and current Governor of the state of Minnesota.

U.S. Senate

during his first run for the Senate in 1982.]] Dayton, an heir to the Dayton's Department Store fortune, financed his 2000 Senate campaign with $12 million of his own money.

In April 2006, Dayton was rated as one of America's "Five Worst Senators"

Dayton received 100 percent ratings from Americans for Democratic Action (a progressive group), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL)., He scored a 9 percent conservative rating by the conservative group SBE Council.

Dayton v. Hanson

In the 2003 lawsuit, at issue was the question of wrongful termination in Office of Senator Mark Dayton v. Brad Hanson. The circumstances of the case were as follows: Brad Hanson worked as State Office Manager for Dayton. Hanson took medical leave for a heart problem and Senator Dayton fired him shortly thereafter. Hanson sued under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, claiming that Dayton had discriminated against him based on a perceived disability. Dayton argued that he was immunized from the suit by the "Speech or Debate Clause" of the United States Constitution. (The clause protects lawmakers from having legislative work questioned by courts.). Dayton claimed that Hanson's duties were directly related to Dayton's legislative functions, thus the decision to fire him could not be challenged. The District Court denied the motion. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, where oral arguments were heard on April 24, 2007. At issue in the case was whether a U.S. Senator can be sued for wrongful termination or if such legal actions are barred by the Constitution's "speech or debate" clause, which protects lawmakers from having legislative work questioned by courts. The Supreme Court ruled (8 to 0) that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal and dismissed the case and the Court declined to grant certiorari.

2010 gubernatorial campaign

On January 16, 2009, Dayton announced his candidacy for Governor of Minnesota. He faced a field of DFL Party challengers in the August 2010 primary election. He chose to bypass the state caucuses and convention in favor of the primary election, closer to the general election, stating that the primary election is a more democratic method of choosing a candidate. He has been known to dislike fund raising for his campaigns, and has mostly relied on personal funds for the governor's race. On May 24, 2010, he announced state senator Yvonne Prettner Solon of Duluth as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

In July 2010, while campaigning for Minnesota governor, Senator Dayton answered a question from a military veteran who asked if Dayton would support tax cuts for veterans. Dayton said the veterans won't want to hear it, but no, the state can't afford it. Republicans criticized Dayton for not being more supportive of people who have fought for the United States. Dayton responded to their criticism issuing a statement that said, “with the state facing a $6 billion deficit, I could not support an additional tax cut, (beyond the $750 tax credit veterans with 20 years military service or with a disability received in 2009).”

On August 10, 2010, Dayton defeated DFL-endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher in a narrowly won primary (41.33% to Dayton, versus 39.75% to Kelliher) and was later endorsed by the Minnesota DFL Central Committee to earn his party's nomination for governor.

In the general election held on November 2, 2010, Dayton led his Republican opponent Tom Emmer at the close of balloting by just less than 9,000 votes. The margin of victory was small enough to trigger an automatic recount under state law. However, analysts generally thought it was unlikely that Dayton's lead would be overturned. During the hand recount of ballots, Emmer failed to find enough questionable ballots to overturn Dayton's lead. Emmer conceded the election on December 8, 2010.

Governor of Minnesota

Dayton took the oath of office to become Governor of Minnesota on January 3, 2011. Former Vice President and Senator Walter Mondale served as Master of Ceremony during the inauguration. Dayton succeeded Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. Dayton is the first DFLer to serve as Governor of Minnesota in 20 years; Rudy Perpich, the state's last DFL governor before Dayton, left office in January 1991. On January 5, 2011, Governor Dayton signed two Executive Orders that allow the Minnesota Departments of Commerce and Health to apply for federal health care grants, and provide $1.2 billion dollars in federal funds toward an Early Option for a state-wide Medicaid Opt-In program. These Executive Orders reversed the previous administration's ban on federal funding for the state's health-care system.

Electoral history

}}

2010 gubernatorial election, DFL Primary

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 41%

*Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL), 40%

*Matt Entenza (DFL), 18%

*Peter Idusoge (DFL), 1%

2000 Race for U.S. Senate

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 49%

*Rod Grams (R) (incumbent), 43%

*Jim Gibson (I), 6%

2000 Race for U.S. Senate – Democratic primary

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 41%

*Mike Ciresi (DFL), 22%

*Jerry Janezich (DFL), 21%

*Rebecca Yanisch (DFL), 15%

*Others, 1%

1998 Race for Governor – Democratic primary

*Skip Humphrey (DFL), 37%

*Mike Freeman (DFL), 19%

*Doug Johnson (DFL), 19%

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 18%

*Ted Mondale (DFL), 7%

1990 Race for State Auditor

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 58%

*Bob Heinrich (R), 42%

1982 Race for U.S. Senate

*David Durenberger (R) (incumbent), 53%

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 47%

1982 Race for U.S. Senate — Democratic Primary

*Mark Dayton (DFL), 69%

*Eugene McCarthy (DFL), 24%

Footnotes

See also

Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2010#Announced 2.

External links

Minnesota Office of Governor Mark Dayton official state site

Mark Dayton for a Better Minnesota official campaign site

Mark Dayton Papers are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society

|- |- |- |- |- |- |- }} |-

Category:1947 births Category:American businesspeople Category:American Presbyterians Category:Democratic Party United States Senators Category:Governors of Minnesota Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Democrats Category:People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Rockefeller family Category:State Auditors of Minnesota Category:United States Senators from Minnesota Category:Yale University alumni

Nationality	American
Image name	Bob_Dole,_PCCWW_photo_portrait.JPG
Alt	Bob Dole portrait c:a 2007 for President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors
Imagesize	220px
Jr/sr	United States Senator
State	Kansas
Party	Republican|term_start=January 3, 1969
Term end	June 11, 1996
Preceded	Frank Carlson
Succeeded	Sheila Frahm
Date of birth	July 22, 1923
Place of birth	Russell, Kansas
Birthname	Robert Joseph Dole
Signature	Bob Dole Signature2.svg
Blank1	Law School
Data1	Washburn University, 1952
Spouse	(1) Phyllis Holden, divorced (2) Elizabeth H. Dole
Religion	Methodist Purple Heart (2)

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole (born July 22, 1923) is an American attorney and politician. Bob Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996. Bob Dole was the Republican party nominee in the presidential election of 1996, but he lost to incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton. Dole is currently special counsel at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Alston & Bird.

In 2007, President George W. Bush appointed Bob Dole as a co-chair of the commission to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, along with Donna Shalala, a former member of the Clinton cabinet.

Bob Dole appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary on Lee Atwater, . In the film, Dole says, "I don't comment on Atwater." Additionally, "This isn't politics, this is garbage."

Personal life

Bob Dole married Phyllis Holden, an occupational therapist at a veterans hospital, in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1948. Their daughter, Robin, was born in 1954. Dole and Holden divorced in 1972. Phyllis died on April 22, 2008.

Dole has been married to Former Senator Elizabeth Dole, née Hanford, of North Carolina since 1975. Mrs. Dole ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2000 and was elected to the United States Senate in 2002, losing her seat in 2008 to Democrat Kay Hagan.

Parodies in popular culture

Bob Dole is known for carrying a pen in his paralyzed hand and has a habit of referring to himself in the third person. During the New Hampshire primaries in 1996, for example, Dole told supporters "You're going to see the real Bob Dole from now on." By April, a National Review columnist termed the habit "irritating". The habit has been much-parodied in popular culture: Bob Dole has been parodied on Saturday Night Live by Dan Aykroyd and Norm MacDonald. His caricature constantly refers to himself in the third person. Bob Dole appeared personally on SNL in 1996 shortly after losing the Presidential election. Dole even lampooned his own caricature of his third-person references and criticized Macdonald as doing "an impersonation of Dan Aykroyd doing (him)."

MADtv featured Bob Dole (played by David Herman) appearing at the 1996 election as Dolemite.

In an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", the Springfield Republican Party holds a secret meeting where they are deciding on a Congressional nominee. All of the attendees agree on the nomination of Krusty the Clown except for Bob Dole, who nominates himself, citing in the third person, "Maybe Bob Dole should run. Bob Dole thinks Bob Dole should. Actually, Bob Dole just wants to hear Bob Dole talk about Bob Dole. BOB DOLE!" In the episode "Brawl in the Family", Dole attends another secret conference of the Springfield Republican Party to give an inspirational reading from the Necronomicon.

In "Treehouse of Horror VII", the 1996 Halloween special episode of The Simpsons (and just days before the 1996 presidential election), both President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole are abducted by aliens. While being abducted, Dole remarks, "Bob Dole doesn't need this."

In the Family Guy episode "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington", Peter meets Bob Dole, who states, "Bob Dole is a friend of the tobacco industry. Bob Dole likes your style..." then repeatedly refers to himself in third person until Bob Dole eventually falls asleep.

Dole appears in the Futurama episode "A Head in the Polls" in the "Closet of Presidential Losers", claiming that "Bob Dole needs company. LaRouche won't stop with the knock knock jokes."

Damon Wayans makes fun of Bob Dole in a stand up comedy sketch, implying that Bob Dole is a pimp from another galaxy, come to America to pimp the nation.

In the 3rd Rock from the Sun episode where Harry Solomon runs for City Council, Bob Dole at one point addresses Dick with Bill Clinton's thumbs up sign, then shifts into third person and displays a pen in his right hand. Bob Dole promptly claims that he "appeals to both sides."

In a segment for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Bob Dole appeared on stage to present his book Great Presidential Wit, and while doing so denied Leno's earlier statements about it being possible for Viagra consumption to lead to blindness in men. "I know a little about Viagra... Bob Dole knows a little about Viagra," Dole claimed, and then proceeded to act as though he were losing his vision. In another segment, Dole jokingly claimed—in the third person—that he had once been part of the cast of Friends but later resigned to run for President of the United States of America. "Bob Dole should have stayed with Friends," he said.

In an episode of Johnny Bravo, Bob Dole is parodied as a dinosaur that held a pencil in its right hand and kept referring to itself in the third person as "T-Rex".

In an episode of South Park (Spontaneous Combustion), in a scene with Gerald Broflovski in his office, Bob Dole is heard on the radio mentioning that he can 'get it up' while using his name in third person. The joke was that Gerald was suffering with erectile disfunction.

On The Dana Carvey Show, he was portrayed by Robert Smigel as being borderline senile and tended to yell his name out of context, or as a replacement for other words or names. "Bob Dole is proud to present the next Vice President of the Bob Dole", "Why won't Bob Dole debate me?", or yelling "DOLE" when scared. He was also out of touch with modern day and believed the United States to have only 48 states. He eventually picked Strom Thurmond as his running mate, to make himself appear "more youthfull and vigerant".

Electoral history

Bibliography

Dole, Bob: One Soldier's Story: A Memoir. (2005). HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-076341-8

James W. Ceaser and Andrew E. Busch: Losing to Win: The 1996 Elections and American Politics Rowman & Littlefield, 1997

Clinton, Bill: My Life. (2005) ISBN 1-4000-3003-X

Robert E. Denton Jr.: The 1996 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective Praeger Publishers, 1998 online

Elovitz, Paul: "Work, Laughter and Tears: Bob Dole's Childhood, War Injury, the Conservative Republicans and the 1996 Election." Journal of Psychohistory (1996) 24(2): 147–162. Issn: 0145-3378

Joshua Wolf Shenk: "The Best and Worst of Bob Dole," Washington Monthly, Vol. 28, July 1996 online

Kerry Tymchuk, Molly Meijer Wertheimer, Nichola D. Gutgold: Elizabeth Hanford Dole: Speaking from the Heart Praeger, 2004

Bob Dole discussing Lee Atwater in the film

References

External links

DOLE, Robert Joseph, (1923 – )

His official website

His hometown's biography of him

His remarks at the dedication of the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas

His memorial to Ronald Reagan after Reagan's death (registration required)

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics

His biography on Alston & Bird's website

CNN AllPolitics review of his early life

Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Citizens Medal - January 18, 1989

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